


They Don't Know About Us

by cheerbabeexoxo



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Forbidden Love, Infidelity, M/M, Post-Canon, Shounen-ai
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 03:02:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3961963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheerbabeexoxo/pseuds/cheerbabeexoxo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were the best of friends until one night changed everything and awakened feelings that they never knew existed. Now Inuyasha and Miroku must decide whether to accept those feelings or deny them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	They Don't Know About Us

#### 

"I know that if we give this a little time  
It'll only bring us closer to the love we wanna find"

####  —

#####  **"Just a Kiss" by Lady Antebellum**

The sun set over the fields, its orange glow reflecting off of the glistening shallows of the rice paddies, and the late spring air was balmy and fragrant with the sweet smell of wisteria on the breeze. The tall grasses that grew at the side of the road tickled the exposed skin of the hanyou's ankles as he trudged along, kicking up dust in his wake.

"Promise me you won't be too reckless?" Kagome had pleaded with him before he'd set out. She'd rolled up the sleeve of his haori, inspecting the wound dressed in tightly wrapped gauze for the umpteenth time. It was minor—a small gash from a bear yokai he'd encountered in the woods—but of course she had made a fuss of it, cleaning the cut with a stinging ointment she'd produced from her first-aid kit. "Promise me, Inuyasha!"

"Okay, okay! Lay off me, would ya?!"

For what had seemed like the millionth time since he'd left the village that morning, Inuyasha had pulled back the fabric yet again, running his finger over the bandaged wound. Still tender, though he'd never admit it.

"You know, constantly poking and prodding at it isn't going to make it go away any faster," Miroku admonished, his steps evenly matched with those of his hanyou companion.

"I know that!" Inuyasha protested. "Geez! You humans. Always making a big deal out of nothing. It's like Kagome forgets just who she's dealing with!" He sighed in frustration, folding his arms across his chest.

"She's just worried about you. You do tend to get a little carried away sometimes."

The hanyou skidded to a stop, kicking up gravel in the process. "What the hell's _that_ supposed to mean?" he demanded.

Miroku exhaled before he finally spoke. "What I mean is…sometimes…you hit first and ask questions later," he said hesitantly, trying to be as careful as he possibly could be with his wording.

"Whatever," Inuyasha huffed. "If anyone's woman needs to be worried, it's yours," he said, feeling a small satisfaction as he watched Miroku stiffen.

"I'll have you know that Sango trusts me completely and she has no cause for worry."

"You _really_ expect me to believe that she's fine with you flirting with the girls in nearly every village we pass through?"

Miroku said nothing, his expression vacant, and an uncomfortable tension settled over the two men.

They walked on in complete silence, save for the croaking of the frogs in the rice paddies and the chirping of the crickets in the fields. A moth fluttered by, briefly landing on the sleeve of Inuyasha's haori, and leaving behind a trail of shimmery silver dust on the red fabric. Once his irritation had started to wane and came to a calm, he grew to appreciate the tranquility and the quiet sounds of the night.

They approached the village where the exorcism was to be performed at twilight. The streets were quiet, save for an elderly man sitting outside of his hut, puffing on a kiseru and enjoying the warm night air.

"Excuse me, sir," Miroku said as he approached the man, "but could you by any chance direct us to the headman's house?"

The man took a long drag from the pipe and scratched his head. "Head straight. Can't miss it," he told them in a gravelly voice before coughing into his sleeve. Miroku uttered a quick thanks and followed Inuyasha down the wide dirt road and past the huts and vendors' stalls.

True to the old man's word, the headman's house stood at the very end of the road. It was of modest size and unimposing, and Inuyasha was almost positive that he had caught a look of disappointment on his friend's face out of the corner of his eye.

"I guess this is it, huh?" Inuyasha said matter-of-factly as they approached the house. The torchlight flickered against the paper screens and a young woman sat cross-legged on the engawa mending the sleeve of her kosode.

She looked up from her sewing at the two men who stood before her: the silver-haired hanyou, with his bare feet and defiant posture, and the houshi in his dark robes, a look of dejection on his face.

"You must be here to exorcise the yokai." She snipped the thread with her teeth.

"Yes," Miroku answered. "Your husband wouldn't happen to be around, would he?"

"My husband?" The girl stifled a laugh. "Surely you jest. I'll go get my father," she told him as she slid open the screen.

"Young and unattached," Miroku commented as he watched her hips sway through the doorway.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Really, Miroku?"

"Well, I mean there is no harm in looking, right?" Miroku said with nervous chuckle.

"Looking at what?" A tall, broad-shouldered figure loomed in the doorway, eying the two men suspiciously. He jumped off the engawa, landing with a thud onto the dirt. "Not my daughter, I hope," he said with a hearty laugh, clutching his protruding stomach.

"Of course not! We're both happily married," Miroku told him.

"The hanyou too? Interesting. I'd have never guessed."

Inuyasha clenched his fist. "Are we gonna get down to business already or what, old man?"

"Very well. Come quietly now," the headman instructed in a hushed tone. "We don't want to disturb the yokai."

Inuyasha and Miroku exchanged quizzical looks but said nothing as the man led them around the back of the house to what appeared to be a garden. Tendrils climbed up the garden wall and a blanket of thick vines covered up every last bit of ground.

"Where exactly is this yokai?" Inuyasha asked a little too loudly, and the headman brought a finger to his lips.

Without a word, the headman gestured to a large green pod nestled among the vines.

"That's the yokai? You're pulling my leg! Now, are you gonna tell us where it is, or are we wasting our time?"

The headman did not avert his gaze from the plant; rather, it remained fixed upon it.

"I don't think he's joking." Miroku poked gently at the pod with his staff.

"What are you doing? Be careful!" the headman said with an angry whisper. "Don't wake it!"

"So it's dormant at night," Miroku observed. "I see."

"Yes. This is why it was so crucial for you to come in the evening. During the day, while the yokai is in bloom…"

"One swing of my Tessaiga'll take care of it!" Inuyasha boasted, reaching to unsheathe his sword.

"Careful with your arm, Inuyasha," Miroku warned him as he lunged at the vines, Tessaiga in hand.

"Would you quit it? You're just as bad as Kagome."

Miroku treaded gently over the vines, making his way toward the pod as Inuyasha hacked away at the thorny tendrils with Tessaiga. The foliage was dense, with vines twisting and turning every which way, causing him to lose his footing and stumble.

Miroku felt a tight, constricting pain around his ankle as the thorns pierced his flesh, and his face contorted in agony as the vines coiled tighter and tighter, inching up from his ankles to his calves. He reached for his staff, but the vine had managed to wrap itself around it, too, snaring the weapon. The harder he fought it, the tighter the vines twisted around his legs, and he wasn't quite sure if he was imagining it, but they seemed to be pulling him closer and closer to the pod.

Inuyasha was oblivious to his friend's peril as he slashed through the thick tangle of vines with a steady hand.

"A little help here would be nice, Inuyasha," Miroku said as he struggled to break free. His arms and legs remained caught in the firm grip of the vines as they inched him closer and closer to the pod, which had now opened to reveal bright red petals and a ring of razor-sharp teeth.

"Can't you see I'm a little busy?" Inuyasha snapped, briefly looking over his shoulder. "Wait, what'd you go and do now?" he shouted as he turned to face Miroku. The houshi lay bound by the vines, mere inches away from what appeared to be some sort of flower yokai. Inuyasha let out an exasperated sigh and raced toward him, evading the vines that snaked underneath his feet. The thorns had pricked his bare feet, but he pressed on and endured it anyway.

"You've really done it this time, huh, Miroku?" Inuyasha grunted.

"Are you just going to stand there and allow me to get consumed by this plant, or are you actually gonna help me?"

Inuyasha drew his blade, and in one swift motion managed to uproot the yokai. Miroku squirmed, still entangled in the vines, but Inuyasha rushed to his aid, liberating him from their confines.

"Thanks," Miroku said as he rose to his feet. The skin around his ankles was swollen and red, and the thorns had managed to break the skin, leaving tiny wounds all the way up his calf. "I thought I was a goner for a second."

"Feh…" the hanyou groaned. "I turn my back on you for one second and this is what happens."

"Just _what_ is it that you think I did? Walk right up and offer myself to the yokai?"

"Well, you might as well have!" Inuyasha retorted.

"I don't mean to interrupt," the headman began, "but—"

"Save it, old man!" Inuyasha said before he could finish his sentence. The headman sighed in defeat, and Inuyasha turned back to face Miroku. "And you chide _me_ for being reckless?"

"It was a calculated risk," Miroku said nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened. "I'm fine now."

"Umm…excuse me?" the headman interjected again, his voice shaky. "It would appear that the yokai has…"

"Dammit," Inuyasha muttered as he turned his head. The uprooted yokai had somehow managed to support its weight with its vines, using them as makeshift legs, and it was heading towards them.

Inuyasha tightly grasped the hilt of his sword, drawing it from the sheath once more and Miroku took a step forward, reaching into the folds of his robes. "Don't worry. I've got this," he said, pulling an ofuda from beneath the fabric.

Miroku lunged toward the yokai, throwing the slip of paper onto one of its bright red petals, and raised his staff, lowering it with a hard thrust. The yokai shrunk and sputtered, releasing a thick yellow pollen that enshrouded the air before withering away into nothingness.

The air felt abnormally heavy and Miroku struggled to breathe as he coughed into his sleeve. The pollen floated on the breeze, tickling his lungs every time he inhaled.

Inuyasha stood at a distance, clasping his mouth and nose with his hands so as not to inhale the yellow powder. "What is this stuff?" he asked, his voice muffled.

The headman's face had grown red from smothering it in the sleeve of his kimono. "I don't know, but shall we head inside to discuss your payment?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Miroku said between coughs.  
\---------------

Inuyasha lay sprawled out on the tatami in the headman's sitting room as one of the headman's daughters poured cups of tea. She set a steaming cup on the floor before him, and as he brought it to his lips, he burnt his tongue on the scalding liquid. Forcing it down anyway, he grimaced at the bitter aftertaste.

He swirled the tea around in his cup, watching the sediment fall into shapes at the bottom. His mother had been able to read the leaves, or so she claimed, finding fortune or failure in their formations, but all Inuyasha saw was an indiscernible scattering of tea dregs settled at the bottom of the cup. Only passively listening to the conversation between Miroku and the headman, Inuyasha focused on the residue in the cup, desperately trying to make out any shape he possibly could. After staring intently, his efforts proved futile. All he could find was a clump of leaves in the shape of a foot. What the hell was that supposed to mean? That now would be a good time to start wearing zori?

"…Huh, Inuyasha?" The hanyou's head snapped up at the sound of his name and he set the teacup back down on the tatami.

"What?" he barked.

"The headman so graciously invited us to stay the night," Miroku told him, his breathing wheezy. "What do you think? I don't know about you, but I'm kind of tired…and I do feel a little lightheaded if I'm being completely honest with myself."

Inuyasha sighed. _How typical_ , he thought indignantly. _Feigning sickness so he doesn't have to go home to his brats._

"Well, Inuyasha?" Miroku looked at him expectantly. He covered his mouth with his sleeve once more, giving a deep, guttural cough.

"Feh…"

Miroku cleared his throat. "Allow me to translate for my companion: thank you for your hospitality. We would be more than happy to spend the night, if it's not too much trouble." Inuyasha glared at his friend, but was only met with a victorious—albeit weak—grin.

"You can sleep in here," the headman told them. "My daughters will prepare your beds."

The girl who had been mending her kosode on the engawa earlier rose to her feet, and her younger sister stacked the empty teacups, carrying them into another room.

"Now, I must retire, as it is getting late." The headman stood and excused himself, smoothing the wrinkles in his hakama.

"Thank you," Miroku said to the man as he started down the narrow corridor. "It's much appreciated.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes when he was sure that their host was out of the room. "I can't believe you," he sighed. "The lengths you'll go to if it means you'll get more time away from your nagging wife and that shrieking brat of yours."

"It's not like that, Inuyasha!" Miroku said in his own defense. "Ever since I breathed in that pollen, I haven't been feeling so good."

"All the miasma you've taken in your body and you expect me to believe _that_?" Inuyasha folded his arms across his chest.

The headman's two daughters had returned from the storeroom, unfolding blankets and spreading the futons on the floor.

"Good night," the younger one said as she snuffed out the flame on the oil lamp and followed her sister out of the room. Inuyasha merely nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'm going outside," he said to no one in particular, getting up abruptly from his place on the tatami and rising to his feet. "You should lie down if you're _really_ feeling out of sorts," he added gently.

"Inuyasha?" Miroku pulled back the covers and lay on his side on the futon.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for understanding."

Inuyasha only grunted in reply, sliding open the door and slamming it shut as he stepped out onto the engawa.

Miroku lay awake, staring at the beams of the ceiling. His robes had begun to feel heavy and uncomfortable all of a sudden, and sweat beaded at his brow. He kicked off the blanket, but it didn't seem to stave off the oppressive wave of heat that had come over him so suddenly. Stripping down to his underclothes didn't seem to help either. Sighing, he put his robes back on but ditched the kesa. Maybe some fresh air would do him some good.

He slid the door open to find Inuyasha sitting on the engawa, slouched against the wall.

"What are you doing up?" Inuyasha asked as Miroku slid the door shut behind him. "I thought you weren't feeling well."

"I can't sleep." Miroku took a seat next to him. "It's too hot." Under the torchlight's dim glow, Inuyasha could see that the houshi's face was flushed and his robes drenched with sweat.

"You don't look so good, Miroku," he observed.

"Gee, thanks."

"No, I mean it! You should let Kagome take a look at your ankles tomorrow or something. I don't want Sango trying to kill me if you drop dead or something."

"Inuyasha," Miroku said, his voice not much louder than a whisper. His indigo eyes were glassy as he leaned in closer to the hanyou, his head tilted and his lips parted. Inuyasha's lips were soft as he pressed them to his own and planted a gentle, lingering kiss upon them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Inuyasha shouted, pulling away abruptly. Miroku's breathing grew heavy before his lids gave in, his body falling limp against the wall. "Miroku! You wake up and answer me right now! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Inuyasha demanded, shaking the pale, languid body.

Miroku stirred but didn't say a word, and Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief. "I guess it's up to me," he muttered as he lifted the houshi and gently set him down on his futon. He tried to push his friend's strange behaviour to the back of his mind as he slouched against the wall in the corner of the room, keeping vigilant watch. Miroku tossed and turned and mumbled in his sleep, beads of sweat pooling on his forehead.

Inuyasha began to feel his own eyelids grow heavy as he slumped against the wall, his head bowed. _Maybe he just needs to sleep it off_ , he tried to reassure himself as he shut his eyes.


End file.
